The present invention relates to an improved elastomeric gasket which can be effectively employed in a variety of environments, particularly those environments, e.g., in computer and electronic equipment, in which traditional gaskets encounter a number of problems.
Seals or gaskets having a variety of shapes and sizes are employed throughout the computer and electronic industry. Because of the extreme sensitivity to contamination by particles having even minute proportions, these seals and gaskets must undergo an elaborate cleaning process in order to remove these particles. However, many of the elastomers employed have a high surface energy which serves to attract air borne particles and fibers. For this reason, it is very difficult and extremely expensive to provide adequate cleaning.
Moreover, when these gaskets are employed in a metal environment, e.g., in combination with a metal retainer for a contained volume, they are often subjected to surface bonding between the gaskets and the metal. This causes undesirable damage to the gaskets particularly in environments where the contained volume requires repeated openings.
Parylene has been employed in a variety of environments, e.g., in the computer and electronic industry as a coating for circuit boards, transducers, sensors, and microelectronic applications. See, for example, the discussion in NOVATRAN Custom Coating Services document entitled "Parylene Conformal Coating" which is incorporated herein by reference.
However, the need still exists for a gasket which can effectively overcome the problems described above.